France’s foreign minister this morning said his country would defend the interests of French bank BNP Paribas after it faced the prospect of a $10 billion-plus fine from the United States and called the penalty “unreasonable.”

"The fine has to be proportionate and reasonable," Laurent Fabius said on France 2 television. "These figures are not reasonable."

Fabius said the United States should deal with the issue as partner and not unilaterally.

Fears that a looming US fine on BNP Paribas over allegations it evaded US sanctions against Iran and other countries for years hit France’s biggest bank on Friday, driving its shares sharply lower.

Jean-Marie Le Guen, a junior minister in French president Francois Hollande’s government, also criticised theUS criminal probe against BNP Paribas, saying France would not allow itself to be pushed around by its ally.

French central bank governor Christian Noyer had said last month that French regulators had found no evidence that French or United Nations rules had been broken.